Root Honor 8X, Install TWRP & Unlock Bootloader

The Honor 8X comes with a locked bootloader and that had made a great difference, at least for those who want to root Honor X and install TWRP recovery. Honor 8X’s bootloader can be unlocked but you’ll have to spend some bucks for that.

Launched in September 2018, the Honor 8X comes with a 6.50-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 2340 pixels at a PPI of 396 pixels per inch. It packs in a 2.2GHz octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 710 processor which is impressive for the price. 4 GB of RAM, with at least 64 GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 256GB, dual rear camera setup, a 16 MP front-facing shooter, a 3750 mAh battery, the device had it all. And yet I’ve been recommending people not to consider the device. Most of those people have been users who would at some point want to root the device and try something. In case you have somehow missed this, Huawei does not allow users to unlock the bootloader on their devices anymore.

Rooting is quite important, for people who want to get the most out of their devices. It’s important for users who’d like to experiment with a different ROM or a mod. If you browse through our website, you’ll find countless rooting tutorials for so many devices. Clearly, we’re not very happy about Huawei’s stance. If you did buy the Honor 8X though and you want to root it, you’ll have to shell out a few bucks. There is no other way to modify the boot image on an Android device without unlocking the bootloader.

Purchase a bootloader unlock code

Since Huawei won’t allow bootloader unlocking, you’ll have to depend on third-party services. These third-party services, as it stands now, only give unlock codes for a price. Below is a list of such services that you can purchase your unlock code from. They’re trusted services and you can be sure the unlock codes will work, but we cannot guarantee anything. You’ll have to provide them with your IMEI number.

Requirements

You’ll need to install the HiSuite from Huawei. This makes sure that the latest device drivers are installed on your Windows PC.

Enable USB debugging and OEM Unlock on your Huawei Android device. To do this go to your Settings -> About -> SoftwareInformation -> More. Now tap on the Build Number 7-8 Times until you see a toast message “Developer option enabled”. Go back to Settings -> DeveloperOptions and enable OEM Unlock and USB Debugging.

You’ll need a Windows, Mac or Linux computer with ADB and fastboot installed and set up. We have dedicated, detailed guides on how to do just that for all the three platforms. You can check them out by following the links below.

Unlocking will wipe all your data so make sure you have a backup of everything important.

The current version of TWRP recovery for the device does not support touch. Progress is being made but until then, you’ll just have to use a USB mouse along with an OTG cable to Swipe and select things.

Warning

Rooting your Honor 8X will void your warranty. Besides, flashing a custom recovery and using it to flash third-party mods can be risky. You may end up bricking your device. Even if you follow all the steps mentioned below correctly, there is still a chance that things may go south for you. Make sure you know what you’re doing and do everything at your own risk. DroidViews or anyone else cannot be held responsible under such circumstances.

Downloads

Unlock Honor 8X Bootloader

On your computer, navigate to the adb folder and launch a command prompt or Terminal window inside the folder.

Connect your Honor 8X to the PC with a USB cable. Select “Transfer Files” on your phone and then select Trust this computer when asked.

If everything is set up right, you should see your device’s serial number when you enter the following command.

adb devices

Reboot your device into fastboot mode using the following command.

adb reboot bootloader

Now unlock your device’s bootloader with this command.

fastboot oem unlock ******

Replace ****** with the unique unlock code you have purchased.

When it’s done, reboot your device normally of via the command given below.

fastboot reboot

Your device has been formatted and you’ll have to set up everything again. Make sure you also enable USB debugging again.

Root Honor 8X and Install TWRP Recovery

Connect your device to the PC again and reboot your device in fastboot mode as before.

Flash the downloaded TWRP image to your device with the following command.

fastboot flash recovery_ramdisk twrp-kirin.img

When the recovery is flashed, disconnect the device and power it off by pressing and holding the Power button.

Now boot into the installed recovery by powering it on while holding the Volume Up key. Let go of both the power and volume buttons when you see the honor logo on the screen. You should soon see the TWRP splash screen.

Swipe to allow modifications if asked and then select Install on the TWRP main screen.